The Best Day Of My Life
by TheVerySpecialOne
Summary: Astoria thinks about her past and future, on a very important day


_AN : this was written for the Quidditch League. I am Chaser 1, from Appleby Arrows and had the main prompt 'Draco sleeping' and the three optional prompts _

_Jumbled( word )_

_"Don't walk behind me, I way not lead. Don't walk in front of me, I may not follow. Just walk beside me, and be my friend -Albert Camus (quote)_

_"I prefer my eggs sunny side up" (dialogue)_

_Hope you enjoy! _

**_Don't walk behind me,_**

I have known Draco since before my first year at Hogwarts. There were countless pure blood occasions, all of them overly formal, where our families would meet and 'interact'. It was always extremely polite and impersonal. The Malfoys were elite, even by pure blood standard; they were powerful and influential and very few would dare go against them. To me, they were mostly intimidating, so I tried my best to avoid them.

Even at Hogwarts, we talked very rarely. I was two years behind, and would not have dared start a conversation. Certain dubious stories told by Daphne kept entering my mind as my eyes lay on him. He was an untouchable, icy statue that presented everything I loathed. Well, perhaps loathe is too string of a word- I strongly disliked his selfishness and abuse of power.

**_I may not lead._**

You could see him struggle. It began in his sixth year -my fourth- and not many seemed to notice it. His eyes deepened, darkened, as his face acquired a pallor very rarely seen on the living. His abuse of power seemed to be tuning 180 degrees and abusing him instead. Paranoia began to settle in halfway through the year, having him jump at any unannounced presence. I had the misfortune of alarming him once, as i was browsing the history wing in the library.

As I turned the corner silently, a mass of muscle blocked my path and sent me flat on my bottom. I looked up towards the blond man; hunched over defensively, his hand was reaching for his wand as he assessed the danger ( me ) with alert eyes.

"Sorry!" I whispered as I gathered my books without getting up. I was surprised when a hand extended towards me. I grasped it and felt the small tremors running through it. "Thanks."

"Be more careful" he grumbled before storming off.

**_Don't walk in front of me,_**

After Dumbledore's funeral everything became a blur. They sent the younger students home during the war. When we found out that the Dark Lord was defeated, we all cheered, darkness no longer looming over our future. Reading about Draco Malfoy being a death eater was an experience in itself. I was aware, prior to then, that the Malfoys were strong believers in the pure blood supremacy. However, the news were eye opening to me. It shocked me that the smug, but scared and paranoid Draco would be able to become such a thing. It dawned on me later that actually, it explained his behaviour- no one that young should be expected to do such gut-wrenching things.

**_I may not follow._**

After Hogwarts I decided to become a healer- helping those who needed it. The next two and a half years were spend studying and practicing and overall learning about what being a healer includes. In the last half a year, we were given permission to start clinical practice, whilst supervised by a full-fledged healer. My supervisor happened to be the one and only Draco Malfoy.

The group welcomed him with suspicion and mistrust, the war still hovering over their heads. Draco's reaction was unexpected ; he ignored all of it, as if it happened every day. During my time there, I learnt that it did happen every day. Both patients and fellow healers were extremely wary of him, some going as far as refusing to be treated by him, despite him being one of the best healers in the clinic. We did not talk much, save for the necessary professional interactions. My tongue itched with unanswered questions, curiosity taking over me every time I had the occasion to ask. I never did ask during that time, though. I could see the hidden guilt that ran through his eyes his eyes whenever someone mentioned the war, and decided it would be better if I did not.

**_Just walk beside me,_**

It was at the end of the year celebration that we finally conversed. It was a gathering much like the ones we used to attend, except less formal. He was sat at the far left table, staring blankly into space, lost in his own world. I strolled over to him, slowly, and sat myself down opposite to where he was.

"Hello." I told him. His eyes focussed and widened, not expecting anyone there.

"Oh, ummmm, hello." Was his dazed response. We talked about everything but the war. I found that he was a truly captivating individual. He told me about his hopes, dreams and his career aspirations. This, of course, led us into a debate (not an argument) on new medical discoveries and theories. We ended up leaving the "party" and going to a more chilled restaurant. Despite it being unprofessional, we went to his house for the night.

I was awakened by the jumbled noises and movement from the other side of the bed. Draco was trashing around, whimpering , panic etched onto his sleeping face. I acted impulsively and gently touched his face with one hand, the other shaking his shoulder.

"Draco, wake up! Wake up, Draco."I exclaimed, my voice progressing from a whisper to a shout. He awoke with a start, almost hitting me as he sat up, his hand gripping his wand.

"Shhhh, it's ok." I tried to soothe him. His body began shaking with powerful sobs. I put my hand around his shoulders, and held him until he fell asleep.

**_And be my friend._**

In the morning, I decided to prepare breakfast and gave the house elves other things to do. I took the ingredients for one of the few thing I knew how to cook and proceeded with frying eggs and bacon

"I prefer my eggs sunny side up, in case you were wondering" I heard a voice from behind me. I turned around, and took in Draco, who turned up shirtless, with messy hair and an amused smirk in place.

"Well, good morning to you too!" I exclaimed, smiling towards him .

"Look, about last night..."

" Hey, don't worry 'bout it . It's already forgotten" I assured and placed the food on two plates.

His nightmares were becoming less frequent and stopped after a while. He still carried around so much guilt, but he now knew he wasn't alone. On our one year anniversary he asked for my hand, which was the second best day of my life.

The first? That was today, when I became Astoria Malfoy.


End file.
